Virginia Contractor License Exams (2026): Pass Marks Given as Raw Numbers

August 28, 2026

Virginia licenses tradespeople through DPOR with PSI administering the exams, and it expresses pass marks as raw correct-answer counts rather than percentages. That is more useful than it sounds.

Figures below are compiled from state board and exam-provider sources. Where a board does not publish a count we say so rather than estimate. Always confirm against the current candidate bulletin for your specific exam before you register.

The exams

Examination	Questions	Time	Pass
Business and Law	50	120 minutes	70%
Journeyman Electrician	70	210 minutes	70%
Master Electrician	100	240 minutes	70%
Journeyman Plumber	80	210 minutes	60 of 80
HVAC Journeyman	85	–	60 of 85
Master Plumber	100	240 minutes	70%

All open book. Electrical is referenced to the 2020 NEC alongside Virginia electrical rules and DPOR regulations; plumbing to the Virginia Plumbing Code, which is the IPC with USBC amendments.

Sixty correct, not seventy percent

Journeyman plumbing needs 60 of 80 and HVAC journeyman needs 60 of 85. Knowing the raw number is more useful than the percentage when you are pacing an exam, because you can count what you have banked rather than estimating a ratio under pressure.

It also exposes something the percentage hides: 60 of 85 is 70.6 percent, so the HVAC paper is marginally harder than a flat 70 percent would suggest, and you can afford exactly 25 wrong.

Business and Law is separate and required

Every Virginia tradesperson also sits a 50-question Business and Law examination, two hours, open book, drawn from the NASCLA business and law material. It is short and it is not about your trade, which is precisely why it gets left until last.

Virginia exam prep

Before you register

Confirm the question count and time limit on the current bulletin.
Confirm the code edition named; it is pinned and a newer edition is not a substitute.
Confirm whether a separate business and law paper is required.